LAWYER JAILED FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT

Mr. Richard Fine is being held in solitary confinement in Los Angeles for the 14 months under allegations stating that he is guilty of contempt of the court after refusing to submit financial documents and answer questions when ordered to pay an opposing party’s attorney’s fees. Fine, a 70 –year-old who once worked for the Department of Justice and is known as a taxpayer’s advocate, claims he ended up in the Los Angeles jail because he stood up against the corruption of the courts.

Fine has allegedly filed many appeals (for the last decade) against the Los Angeles County’s Superior Court judges. Fine claims the judges have accepted yearly bribes from the county worth $57,000, but this is on top of their annual salary of $178,789 paid to them by the state. The county refers to these extra payments as “supplemental benefits” – a way to attract and retain quality judges in a high-cost city. This practice of supplemental benefits paid out to judges is common in California, but is an unheard of practice among other high-cost states. According to Fine, when judges receive these payments, they are less likely to rule against the county when it is involved in a lawsuit. Fine’s crusades against the judges for the past several years has lead up to his disbarment last year.